HUNTINGTON BEACH : School Conversions, Closures Considered

Ocean View School District officials disclosed this week that they might close three schools and convert several elementary campuses to middle schools by June.

The district, where enrollment has plummeted in recent years, faces a budget deficit of between $1.3 million and $1.8 million.

Although officials have not yet announced which schools are being eyed for closure, about 100 angry parents, chiefly representing Vista View School, urged the school board Tuesday night not to close that school.

Some of the parents said they had heard rumors that Vista View topped the district’s list of schools targeted for closure, so they sent fliers home with students urging parents to attend the board meeting. But board President Charles Osterlund said no schools have been selected for closure.

Osterlund said studies indicated that the district would need to eliminate three of its 17 schools to bring its average enrollment in line with other county districts. Some Ocean View campuses now have 40% fewer students than the norm.

A committee of school and district officials and parents is holding a public hearing on the issue May 7 at Ocean View High School, and it will present its final proposal to the board eight days later. Trustees are scheduled May 22 to vote on that plan.

The parents at Tuesday’s board meeting said they are determined to voice their opinions well before the trustees make a final decision. They defended Vista View, a K-8 school with a strong academic record.

“We’re not trying to attack the board. We just want you to know that this is a community that backs this school,” Randy Vanderhook, whose two children attend Vista View, told board members. “We don’t want to get caught with our shorts down and then, boom, something happens and our school gets closed down.”

Osterlund told the parents they had no grounds for believing Vista View may be closed.

“Many schools, eight or nine, are being looked at,” he said. “There are many different plans concerning schools being closed down for various reasons, but there is not one school singled out. I think you do all of us a disservice” by suggesting Vista View may be closed.